The manager of World Heavyweight Champion, Oleksandr Usyk, has said a fight between his man and Tyson Fury would be like a game of cat and mouse.
Egis Klimas, who has been by Usyk’s side for his journey to the elite level of the sport, caught up with Fight Hub TV to give an update on his fighter since he successfully defended his belts against Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
When asked about the next time we would see the Ukrainian champion in the ring, Kilmas responded ‘probably in February, definitely not this year.’ He went on to say that his fighter was only interested in an undisputed match up with Tyson Fury, and that his reasons for being out of the ring until then were bigger than boxing.
“After the [Joshua] fight, Oleksandr went back to Ukraine. As we speak, he just came back from the front lines. He went to cheer soldiers. We know the country is fighting – really fighting in the real world, it’s not boxing – and he has his foundation, he’s helping a lot of people and he’s doing his duty for the country. That’s why he cannot prepare for a fight.”
On his prediction for the fight, there’s no surprise Klimas is confident of a Usyk victory, although he’s under no illusions about the likely method, stating his man ‘cannot beat’ Fury.
“Fury’s a big guy. I would say Usyk cannot beat Fury, Usyk can win [against] Fury. It’s a big difference between beat and the win. Usyk beat Bellew, Usyk won against Joshua. He didn’t beat Joshua, he won [against] Joshua. Very closely, rewatch Usyk Joshua second fight, and count how many knockout punches you’re going to see coming from Usyk. And the tell me – he beat Joshua or he won Joshua? He won [against] Joshua ever single round, but he didn’t beat. Joshua got tired, but [Usyk] didn’t beat [him]. He won. This is what makes him the fighter he is.”
“Of course [Usyk beats Fury on points], it’s going to be like cat and mouse.”
One hopes that since the Ukrainian is a free agent in terms of broadcast and UK promotional deals, the fight can be made with relative ease early next year. As Usyk returns to training and begins to prepare, ‘The Gypsy King’ is due to announce a December opponent this week.